Oil giant BP has been suspended from new contracts with the US government because of the way it handled the Gulf rig disaster.

The under-pressure boss of BP today insisted the beleaguered oil giant had reached a “turning point” despite production falling as it continues to sell off billions of dollars worth of assets in the wake of last year’s Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.

The BP rig disaster managed to topple Michael Jackson from the top spot on this year’s Yahoo list of most popular internet search requests.